Back On The Mountain

She will be black and blue (and a few other colors) for a while.

Helaine and I did the mountain today–first time in five days. She’s starting to feel a little better. She was, however, very apprehensive about the walk down. Who can blame her after last week’s tumble.

She will be black and blue (and a few other colors) for a while. There are some deep bruises that aren’t going to heal overnight.

We’re Just Like Lewis And Clark

Helaine said, “Don’t say anything.”

“What class is this,” I asked?

lews_and_clark.jpgIt poured this morning. It was enough to wake me.

I’ve come to a strange place in life. As I laid in bed, hoping to quickly fall back to sleep, I thought “medium sized drops.” During the summer we often get super sized giant drops. This storm was different. It made up for drop size with drop quantity.

I did all that rain thinking with my eyes closed. Weird. I’m obviously much too attuned to weather. I have no doubt my sightless observation was correct.

Early this afternoon we headed to the Sleeping Giant Tower Trail for our every-other-day hike up the mountain. As we approached the trail head I heard running water. A stream was moving swiftly throwing white water over rocks. In our five plus months on the mountain we’d never seen this stream run!

“Maybe we shouldn’t go today,” Helaine offered.

“We’re just like Lewis and Clark,” I said, trying to keep my footing on the wet leaves that are beginning to cover the trail. We walked a few minutes before coming upon a cluster of a dozen college students.

Helaine said, “Don’t say anything.”

“What class is this,” I asked?

I know. Helaine wants to be unobtrusive. My asking the group of strangers what they’re doing there is more than a little dweeby. I couldn’t be held back.

It was a biology class doing some field work. Quinnipiac University is a few minutes walk from the trail. What a great classroom. I suspect they don’t get that aspect yet.

We continued upward. It was quickly obvious we’d be behind our normal pace to the top. Footing was bad and from time-to-time water rushed across the trail. I was upset “Clicky” wasn’t along for the ride. Some of these ad hoc waterfalls were really beautiful. I’m not sure when I’ll see them again.

About 2/3 of the way to the top the trail levels for 150 feet or so. It’s the only flat portion of the 1.6 mile trip. There were four large puddles to be forded.

The last few minutes of walking saw no running water. There were gullies that were wet, but no flow. At this time of year, running water near the top doesn’t last long. As the ground gets saturated and colder that will be less of a problem.

This little mountain never ceases to amaze me. It is constantly changing. The trail is never boring–always a little different. It’s just five minutes from the house. I kick myself we waited 18 years before getting started.

Today reminded me the seasons are changing. It’s becoming clear the trail will be more difficult as we move to colder weather. I’m not sure it’s going to let us hike for all 12 months. Damn shame.

The Season Has Changed

There is a solution, we just haven’t figured it out yet.

Helaine and I are a little stumped. We went for our walk up Sleeping Giant and weren’t quite sure what to wear. Maybe this has to do with my watching Les Stroud, aka “Survivorman,” too much. Les always talks about the downside of sweat, evaporation and chill. Helaine may glow, but I sweat!

With the mercury lower and enough breeze to hear the rustle that marks fall we took light shells to wear over our t-shirts. We were still sweating (OK, I was sweating), but the sweat wasn’t going anywhere. There is a solution, we just haven’t figured it out yet.

We’d like this to be a year-round thing. I’m not so sure we’re going to be able to do that.

Clicky Takes The Hike

I told Helaine I’d wait until the top before I started shooting photos and I was true to my word.

Helaine and I walked Sleeping Giant again today. We were about a minute slower than the ‘record’ times we’d set the last few trips up. I’ll blame that on an antibiotic I’m taking and the fact “Clicky” was hanging on a strap around my neck.

I told Helaine I’d wait until the top before I started shooting photos and I was true to my word.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with HDR photograpy, so instead of “click” for each picture it was “click, click, click.” Three times the files. This is getting a little overwhelming.

I’ll process more later, but I thought I’d throw some on quickly this afternoon. The Giant is a place of amazing beauty even after hiking it close to 75 times this spring and summer. That it’s about five minutes from home is icing on the cake.

sleeping-giant-flower.jpg

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They’re Back

As of tonight I’ll have to be more diligent as freshmen figure out how to get served, get drunk and get home.

Helaine and I just returned from our walk up Sleeping Giant. We walked it yesterday with Tracey, a director from work and her dog Tallulah, who we will be watching this weekend.

Note to Tallulah: Be prepared to have your photo taken–a lot.

Tallulah is a tiny dachshund with short legs. Seeing her walk the trail was like watching a wind-up toy in action. Our Tallulah/Tracey walk was at a slower pace which finally allowed us to see that the speed we achieve has a lot to do with our aerobic outcome. At yesterday’s pace it was as if the mountain had been flattened!

quinnipiac_campus.jpgWe were back today to press harder. No sooner had we turned onto Mt. Carmel Avenue than we saw this was a different day. Quinnipac University is letting their students back in the dorms and there was a long line of cars–stopped!

We squeezed to the left of the line, driving with the dashed yellow under the center of my car. People had their engines off. Some were sitting atop their vehicle. You could see the SUVs and trucks were packed to the gills.

Though a mile away, we’re not really affected by QU up in my neighborhood on the hill. I do pass off-campus student housing and a few bars on my way home from work. It’s been quiet this summer. As of tonight I’ll have to be more diligent as freshmen figure out how to get served, get drunk and get home.

The Giant Gets Slippery When Wet

Today’s discovery–it’s much more difficult to take our hike when it’s wet

It rained this morning. No, scratch that, it poured. By the time we got on The Giant the storm was finished, but it was still wet.

Today’s discovery–it’s much more difficult to take our hike when it’s wet. The rocks and pebbles that cover the trail started shifting with each step. My sneakers never got the traction I’m used to. Each step brought less distance.

On top of that it was humid. The dew point is hovering close to 70&#176. The sweat was pouring off me. Helaine doesn’t sweat, she glows.

For the first time in a long time we took a short break just before reaching the tower at the summit. Mother Nature wins.

We ran into Scot Haney on our way down. Scot’s a meteorologist for the competition in Hartford. He was in the third SUV of a three car entourage heading to the top. These were the first passenger cars we’ve seen driving here all spring and summer.

Like Father Like Son

This doesn’t bode well, especially when you consider I’m only seeing the ones that are getting out to walk.

Another day on the mountain. I took a pretty good tumble on the way down. Lots of little stones and I tripped on one. I bruised my hands and scraped my knee. Dr. Helaine says I’ll live, if she lets me.

As we walk up and down the mountain, I get a chance to stare at strangers heading in the opposite direction. I look at kids, walking with their parents. Then I mentally age them. It’s scary how alike children and parents are, both facially and body type. That’s especially true when it’s a lifestyle induced body type.

This doesn’t bode well, especially when you consider I’m only seeing the ones that are getting out to walk.

Sweating On The Mountain

Think walking with your body draped in a hot, wet towel.

Helaine and I walked Sleeping Giant Mountain early Sunday afternoon. It was hot and sticky–the most uncomfortable since we began. The dew point was easily 70&#176.

Think walking with your body draped in a hot, wet towel.

People are smart when the weather’s problematic. Most stayed home. Trail traffic was off by half, maybe more, from a typical Sunday.

I’ve come to another conclusion about walking, though I’m not sure what significance it has. Our mountain trekking has benefited me from the rib cage down more than from the rib cage up! My legs are taking the walk in stride with little trouble. On the other hand, I still sweat like a pig and wish my lungs would be more efficient in acquiring and using oxygen. I usually finish my bottle of water while we’re resting at the top.

Given half. the chance, I’d be walking every day, It’s really made a difference in how I feel and look. There’s no one more surprised to hear that than me! I never expected results.

Climbing The Mountain Again

It is the never ending detail that makes the trail at Sleeping Giant so interesting to walk and different day-to-day.

Helaine and I have been walking Sleeping Giant Mountain every few days for the last two months. It has made a difference in how we look and feel. I am still totally wasted by the time we get to the top, meaning there is still more benefit to be gained.

The gravel trail we walk is flanked by rocky rises and surrounded by woods. I stare into the woods all-the-time. There is something about them that struck me as different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Now I have an idea what’s going on.

What we have is the opposite of the old adage, “can’t see the forest for the trees.”–an expression describing someone too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole.

I grew up in the city. We didn’t have a whole lot of forests. OK–we had no forests. When I saw groups of trees, I saw them in photos or on TV. It was a singular, lush feature. I couldn’t see the trees for the forest.

When a forest fills your field-of-view, as it does on a TV screen or in the photo at the top of this entry, there is little detail. But when you’re inside the woods looking around, like on the Giant, each tree is sharply defined. That’s what had me confused. I never thought about the inherent intricacy of a forest.

It is the never ending detail that makes the trail at Sleeping Giant so interesting to walk and different day-to-day. Every step, every shift in the Sun’s angle, makes the trees look different.

I was thrown because I looked at the forest and saw sharp detail. Nearly 58 years on Earth and I had never stopped to see that existed.

The Push Ups Resume

Nearing the halfway point, Helaine asked me to look down again. Slithering away was a pale green snake.

My pecs are finally permitting. I’m doing push ups again. My goal is still 100 push ups with no set date to reach my goal.

I’ve gone back to the original starting point on the HundredPushUps site. I’ll work my way up from there. In fact, I might just do “Day 1” again before going on to heavier lifting.

In other fitness news, Helaine and I continue to walk Sleeping Giant. We were up again Tuesday and Wednesday after hitting it twice over the weekend.

PIC-0167_1On our way down Tuesday, I stopped to check out a stony lookout and snap the photo on the left.

Nearing the halfway point down we stumbled upon a light green snake, making its way across our path. We are not snake people. I went to pull out my cellphone/camera until Helaine asked if I was crazy. Probably a little.

We walk the trail all the time, yet it looks different every time! The way the sunlight plays through the thick stands of trees is never the same. Today the path was dry and dusty. Yesterday it was spongy with a bit of debris washed there by rain.

These Sleeping Giant walks have had quite an effect on me. Our time to the top is stuck at 28 minutes, but I’m a lot less fatigued when we get there. Though I’m not losing much weight, my clothes are a lot looser. I now look good enough to be the “BEFORE” picture in a BEFORE/AFTER sequence.

There’s still a very long way to go. This summer I am strangely motivated.

Push Up Pain

I just tried and after two easy push ups decided I was going to hurt myself if I continued.

I sat nearly three hours deciding whether to do push ups tonight. My goal is to get to 100, but my first session on Thursday, left me with very sore pecs. I’m a little scared.

I just tried and after two easy push ups decided I was going to hurt myself if I continued. This doesn’t mean I’m giving up or retreating. I’m just waiting until exercise doesn’t equal injury. I look forward to getting on with this plan.

Meanwhile, Helaine and I took on Sleeping Giant twice this weekend. I’m staying busy.

Up The Mountain, Again

My pecs and abdomen are both sore.

Helaine asked if I wanted to walk Sleeping Giant again. Of course. It’s part of my new commitment.

“This is no walk in the park,” she said as we reached the halfway mark to the summit. But, of course, it is a walk in the park.

Though I’m supposed to resume my push ups tonight, I’m still too sore. They’ll probably have to wait until tomorrow evening. My pecs and abdomen are both sore. My pecs don’t seem to enter into walking, but I could feel my sore stomach muscles as I walked to the top. It wasn’t pain as much as it was a reminder.

I am surprised push ups have that much connection to my ‘core,’ the new hip way of referring to my gut. It’s an unexpected bonus.

Helaine and I are both surprised the mountain is still more than we can easily accomplish. Yes, we went to the top without stopping, but I was soaked in perspiration and huffing and puffing when I got there. As long as it’s a challenge, it provides benefit – right?

It’s a shame I can’t do push ups tonight. I really want to get that part of my training underway.

Push Ups

One hundred push ups in one sitting is my goal. It would be something I’ve never been able to do – ever.

After feeling so good after our hike yesterday I decided to add something additional to my fitness regimen – push ups. Understand, I lead a sedentary life, but I really feel a difference from the hill climbing Helaine and I have been doing.

My clothes fit better. ‘Nuff said there.

There’s a website, “one hundred push ups, ” which has a six week schedule to get you to 100. Being a sucker for good design, I’ve decided this program will work because the website’s pretty (I have the ads turned off. It’s not as pretty with ads)

My initial test got me to seven, then collapse. That’s OK. It just set my benchmark.

I followed the first day’s schedule in the website’s middle group. I did 7, 7, 5, 4, 4 push ups with a minute between each set. I’m a little sore in my upper chest area right now. To recuperate, today’s a day off, but tomorrow I’m scheduled to do 9, 8, 6, 5 and 7 with 90 seconds between each set.

How long will I continue? Who knows. It’s always possible I’ll drop the ball. I figure mentioning it here is likely to give me a little more motivation.

One hundred push ups in one sitting is my goal. It would be something I’ve never been able to do – ever. Their schedule suggests six full weeks before I make the attempt. I’ll let you know how I’m progressing.

More Mountaineering

I felt great! Not just a little good, I felt really great. My head was clear and sharp. It was as if a film of dullness had been lifted from me.

“I don’t think this is getting easier,” were Helaine’s words as we approached the halfway point in our march upward. I was huffing and puffing too much to respond.

The trail is wide enough that a car could fit… if it was allowed up there. You’re walking through a forest, so there’s little direct sunlight that hits the trail itself. That makes summer walks a little easier to handle.

Nearly all of the trail we walk is on an incline. It has to be. In the 1.6 miles to the top, you’re gaining nearly 700 feet.

“They’ve tilted the Earth, haven’t they,” I asked? “It’s steeper than it was last week.”

Today, for the first time this season, I made the trip in one fell swoop. There was no stopping for a sip of water on a convenient boulder at the midway point. My hair was matted and sweaty under my New York Times hat (a Father’s Day gift) as we got to the stone castle at the summit, but we got there.

It’s a good thing this is Sleeping Giant Mountain and not Sleeping Giant Canyon. Who’d do it if the uphill part was last!

We got home, I took a shower and got ready for work. And then, a wonderful thing happened. I felt great! Not just a little good, I felt really great. My head was clear and sharp. It was as if a film of dullness had been lifted from me. I think the mountain hike is responsible.

Is it possible our walking has brought me a runner’s high?

From Wikipedia: Another widely publicized effect of endorphin production is the so-called “runner’s high”, which is said to occur when strenuous exercise takes a person over a threshold that activates endorphin production. Endorphins are released during long, continuous workouts, when the level of intensity is between moderate and high, and breathing is difficult. This also corresponds with the time that muscles use up their stored glycogen. Workouts that are most likely to produce endorphins include running, swimming, cross-country skiing, long distance rowing, bicycling, weight lifting, aerobics, or playing a sport such as Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, rugby, or American football.

Does this mean I’m out-of-shape enough that walking brings to me what running brings to others? Whatever it is, I want more. We’ll probably be back on the mountain Saturday.

Walking For A Cause

Damn! I hate it when people are nice.

I get lots of requests to make charity appearances. I just can’t say yes all the time. Actually, I can’t say yes most of the time. I was going to say “no” this particular time when Mary Foster asked me to walk for the Alliance For Lupus Research.

It’s a great cause, but it was a Saturday after a ‘day off’ Friday. But, there was a difference that made me say yes and not no.

About a year or two ago, my brother John Nolan, of Nolan’s Hamden Monuments made you a stone that read “sunshine” on one side and “rain” on the other so that when doing your weather forecasts, you would have it inscribed in stone. I am hoping you remember this.

Damn! I hate it when people are nice.

John Nolan did make me a very cool sign from what I assume was scrap granite. And then he refused my offer of money to pay for it. Every once in a while I drag it into work so I can claim the forecast is carved in stone.

PIC-0156I went to Sleeping Giant State Park this morning and walked with a hundred or so volunteers. That’s a really good response for the first year. It was my second consecutive day on the trail, but lots of the folks walking were attempting this hike for the first time, which made me feel good.

Life is mainly good for me. If I can help a group like this get some attention for their cause, it only makes things better.